Two African cyclists prepare to challenge the Tour de France podium

The world’s most famous cycling race has been dominated by a Spaniard and an
American in the yellow jersey in recent years but how long will it be before
an African adds to the list of Paris podium winners?

August has been a month like no other for two Kenyan cyclists. Plucked from obscurity in a remote tribal village, Zakayo Ndbri and Mwangi Samwel spent three weeks near Alpe d’Huez as part of one man’s dream to see the first black African take part in the Tour de France.

The village in question is Eldoret. Perhaps not so remote in sporting terms, it is famed for producing some of the greatest long-distance runners of the past. Nick Leong, a Singaporean photographer and investor, travelled there with the intention of finding four riders to train before sending them to Europe where there would be more exposure for the pair.

The aim was to acclimatise the riders before attempting to get as close as possible to Lance Armstrong’s time-trial record (37 mins 36 secs) he set up Alpe d’Huez during the 2004 Tour. Leong's prerogative was that if they got within a few minutes, then professional teams and potential sponsors would surely sit up and take note of what was going on up the famous 21 hairpin-bends.

After negotiating visa problems, Zakayo and Mwangi were based near Alpe d’Huez and it wasn’t long before they started to make a name for themselves. Zakayo, a 26-year-old shoeshine boy, raced up the mountain in 46 minutes to beat a host of semi-professionals in his first European race.

For Leong, watching from the support vehicle and followed by a film crew documenting his project, this was his raw talent ripping apart the field and with energy to spare. The pair looked relaxed and confident as they recuperated at the chalet and there was hope that Zakayo, at least, could shave another few minutes off his time.

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He did that in a traditional weekly race a week later, as revealed by the Daily Telegraph in the video. Zakayo soon broke away from the pack and, despite a seasoned racer trying to attack him four times, the Kenyan comfortably won in 42 minutes 10 seconds, while his team-mate also showed his potential with third place. It was the best time accomplished this year from a rider outside the Tour; throw Zakayo’s time into the 2004 race and he would have finished on par with the top 20.

To get this far pays testament to Leong’s dream, but it was nearly wrecked by Kenya’s civil war earlier this year. Zakayo’s hometown was scene to rampant mobs destroying homes and killing up to 50 people, with much of the anger directed at the cyclists’ Kikuyu tribe.

Zakayo managed to escape in time to pick up an air ticket to Singapore given to him by Leong with his family sheltering in a police compound. However, it wasn’t the first time that Zakayo had left his home country. A few months previously, Leong had entered Zakayo into the annual Swissotel Vertical Marathon in Singapore; he subsequently blazed up the 73-storeys of south east Asia’s tallest hotel in a record seven minutes.

If he could endure powering vertically up on two legs then Zakayo could achieve the same on two wheels. Physical and mental fitness certainly isn’t a problem: to earn money for his family, Zakayo cycles a daily round-trip of between 100 and 200 kilometres his small stature and endurance capabilities ideal for tackling the mountains.

So how did it take a Singaporean to invest his time and money in finding a ‘Black Pantani’? The answer comes from a little-known black rider who peaked at the turn of last century. “Major” Taylor began racing in 1896 when he entered a pro bike race in Madison Square Gardens and lapped the entire field in the process, while three years later he won the one-mile at the world championships.

However, his ability to win virtually every race he entered also left a black mark on his career. In his home state of Indiana he was banned from racing thanks to his supreme talent while one race in Massachusetts saw Taylor tackled by an enraged cyclist who left him unconscious in the process. Today, Leong is a supporter of the Major Taylor Association which aims to keep his legacy alive following his death in 1932.

The “Major”, who never rode the Tour de France, would have had sympathy for Kenya’s previous cycling exposure in the press before Zakayo and the 24-year-old Mwangi. During the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, team-mates George and Harry decided to go for a training ride prior to their medal race. A few hours later they were picked up by police after motorists phoned the authorities to explain that two cyclists were riding down the M61 at around 40mph. Unaware of their plight, the Kenyans explained that it was perfectly legal to ride the motorway back home.

The Kenyans’ spirit of adventure doesn’t look like stopping with Zakayo and Mwangi in the saddle either and maybe one day it will be a Kenyan-sponsored team dominating the Alps.